LONDON: Theo Walcott struck twice as Arsenal staged a remarkable comeback to beat north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 and reclaim a place in the top four while delivering a huge blow to their near neighbours’ fast fading title hopes.
Trailing to an early Louis Saha goal and an Emmanuel Adebayor penalty, Arsenal appeared to be heading for a third successive defeat.
But the home side responded superbly, drawing back level thanks to goals from Bacary Sagna and Robin Van Persie immediately before the break before Tomas Rosicky and Walcott secured victory in the second half.
The victory provided a welcome boost to Arsenal and their under-fire manager Arsene Wenger following the FA Cup exit at the hands of Sunderland and the humiliating 4-0 Champions League defeat to AC Milan.
Three points allowed them to leapfrog Chelsea and close the gap on third-placed Spurs to seven points who missed out on the chance to reduce the ten-point deficit on Premier League leaders Manchester City.
In another match, Ryan Giggs marked his 900th game for Manchester United with a stoppage-time winner in a 2-1 victory over Norwich on Sunday in their Premier League clash.
The champions had been in danger of falling four points behind leaders Manchester City after Norwich captain Grant Holt had netted a late equaliser.
That had cancelled out Paul Scholes’ goal for United but fellow veteran Giggs was in the right place at the right time two minutes into added time to make sure Sir Alex Ferguson’s side remained within touching distance of their neighbours.
Relief for Andre as Chelsea down Bolton
Earlier on Saturday, The pressure was lifted off Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas after his side moved back into fourth place in the Premier League with a 3-0 victory at home to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
Goals from David Luiz, Didier Drogba and the recalled Frank Lampard were enough to move Chelsea above Arsenal and into fourth place, the final Champions League qualification slot.
The result also left Bolton in the relegation zone as Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich watched from the stands.
Villas-Boas had been forced to admit his team selection for the 3-1 defeat at Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday night had left him open to plenty of criticism.
Abramovich had demanded an explanation after Lampard and Ashley Cole were left out of the starting line-up, which had not been popular with the majority of supporters either. Both England internationals were recalled for this game, as was Michael Essien, and defender Gary Cahill started against the club that had sold him in January.
Drogba was also picked to lead the front line, which meant Fernando Torres, who had been omitted from the most recent Spain squad, had to be content with a place on the bench.
Meanwhile Manchester City had beaten Blackburn Rovers 3-0 in another match. (Agencies)